he needs CL to make sure messi doesn't break his records. he's not moving to a non-CL team.

I think this year is one of the most important for him. 17-18 is probably the last Balon d'Or he'll be able to compete for and with Messi probably moving to the midfield soon, he needs to score as much as possible to make sure he solidifies his place in history

lol, people still believe this happen?
Messi was more "midfielder" in his early 20s than he is now(same goes for CR & Totti). He has almost no defensive duties as false 9/free role. You can't get a more optimized role for a talented attacker on decline.

They're not box-to-box mids who switch to a more psychological and less physically demanding anchor role when they lose their legs. They're attackers. They need to be in and around the box. Messi might turn out good as regista(doubtful since he hardly knows what defensive responsibility is), but it will never be the most appropriate role for him.